Of Papers and Partners

It's past midnight, so I'm going to bed. Sweet dreams my lovely viewers! Unless you flame me, then you can go to hell, my lovely arch nemesis!

I don't own Pokémon or Pokémon Ranger, savvy? On with the story!


"Big Brothers, it's morning!"

Mmm...

"... Big Brothers? Come on, you have to wake up!"

... Five more minutes.

"Listen, Big Brothers... This isn't a letter, you know?"

Go away... still asleep...

"...WAKE UP!"

Alright, alright; we're up! Sheesh. I jump out of bed, ready to assault whoever woke me up so early after getting out of hospital, to fuzzily see Lil' standing at the foot of my bed, a smile on her rosy cheeks.

"Good morning! Starting today, you're a Pokémon Ranger, Big Brothers." Yeah, let's see how that one works out after what happened the other day. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry, though. Look after each other, OK?"

She wraps her skinny arms around me, squeezing me as tight as she can, which isn't very tight at all. Still, it's nice to finally see her again. I don't understand how her blonde hair can look so perfect at this time of day.

We'll be too busy to play with her today, though.

She probably understands. Now we just have to find our way to Vientown with our blurry vision.

Stairs first. Don't fall down them, or we'll be taken back to hospital.

I carefully manoeuvre down the stairs, struggling with a mixture of sight loss and bed legs. My hair is probably sticking up all over the place. Or more than usual, anyways. Mom, Dad and Lil' are downstairs. This is the first time they've seen me in a uniform of any kind.

And the first time we've all been together in just over a year.

"Sun, good morning!" greets Mom in a voice that is too cheery for this time of morning. "How did you like your new room?" It's better than the one at the hospital; I'll give them that. "Did you sleep well? This house gets a lot of sunlight, and the kitchen is easy to use. I like this house a lot. How do you feel, dear?"

I waver my hand in a 'so-so' gesture. Our last house was next to the beach.

"I'm glad we chose this place," said Dad, always the contradictory force. "Our field's just steps away from our front door. Your mother and I dreamed about owning a place like this for years."

"I got to name our field!" Lil' exclaims. "I named it 'Partner Farm' because Mommy and Daddy get along so well!"

I have a quick breakfast of muesli and leave the house. The sun is shining brightly on my first day as an official Ranger. I cast my eyes around, looking for a sign post that isn't too far away to read. Nothing.

I think Vientown is to the North. Let's give it a shot.

Chicole Village is the smallest settlement I've ever seen. There are only four houses. I walk up past the houses, using the compass on my Styler to guide me. A signpost points the way to Vientown; luckily we we're going in the right direction.

The forest is up ahead. This is going to hurt.

It does, as well. I can't see the branches and roots properly until I'm falling over them. Luckily, this path is more broken in than the one between the School and Vientown, so I don't hurt myself too much. I get to Vientown with a nest in my head, which I brush off, when Luana comes jogging up to meet me.

"Hi, Light! You're looking good!" she winks. "I was looking forward to your arrival so much, I decided to come wait for you. Come on, let's go to the Ranger Base!"

The Buneary that follows her around climbs up onto her back, rubbing its dirty paws all over her once-pristine uniform. Luana leads me off to the Ranger Base, which is a relief, because I was having trouble with my sight.

"Are you maybe feeling nervous? It makes me remember what it was like for me just a year ago. Well, let's go inside. Everyone's waiting for you!"

We'll get to ditch this unflattering uniform! It holds some memories, though.

Whether they're good or bad isn't decided. I just go into the Base before something falls on me. You can never be too careful these days. Everyone is gathered in the Ranger Base, obviously awaiting my arrival. Barlow has a newly pressed ruby red uniform in his hands.

"Light, you little so-and-so!" he bellows. "What made you come here? Wahahah! Welcome aboard! Oh, before that, there's something I forgot to say. Congratulations on graduating from the Ranger School!"

"We heard about your heroics at the graduation ceremony, too," says Elaine.

She didn't mention the trip to hospital we had.

She probably thinks it would be rude to talk about it.

"I heard Keith became a Ranger as well," Crawford jokes. "But he's in Fiore." Don't remind me. "Oh, right, about today's lunch delivery... No, no, I'm just kidding!"

He better be. Barlow shoves Crawford gently, or as gently as Barlow can shove anything, and comes over.

"You'll be stuck hearing Crawford's jokes regularly from now on. You'll have to get used to it."

Well, at least I can't see his bad hairstyle properly any more. I just need to keep a foot away from him at all times.

"Light, you should go get changed. The changing room is over there," Luana says succinctly.

She points off to the back of the Ranger Base, which must be where an extra room is. I can't see it from here. Barlow dumps the uniform on me. It feels a bit too big in my arms.

We always were on the small side.

The room is a locker room/bedroom combo. Rangers must stay here when they're on duty. It takes a while to figure out how to get the uniform on; it has so many separate parts.

It looks better on us though! Does our butt look big in this?

We look fine. Get over it. I throw the school's uniform out without a hint of regret. It was an awful colour.

We're a real Ranger now! Go show everyone!

I leave the room to meet the 'Ooh's and 'Ahh's and 'Isn't it a bit big?'s from the rest of the team. I rebuke any questions about the size of the uniform with a frosty shake of the head. It'll do just fine. Besides, the extra size makes it breathable.

"The uniform looks good on you. You wear it well." Aww, thanks Barlow. "OK, the time has come..." Not another test of courage? "I confer this to you, in recognition of your status as an official Ranger... Your Capture Styler."

Well, at least it wasn't paddling.

Oh, it's shiny! Let me hold it!

You are holding it. In a manner of speaking.

"That officially makes you a certified Pokémon Ranger," he states proudly. "Well? How does it feel to hold that?" It makes it worth coming out of hospital. "The Capture Styler blah, blah, blah..."

It captures Pokémon and does other stuff. Yeah, yeah, heard it all before.

Aren't you excited?

I'm more worried that I won't be able to see the Pokémon I'm capturing.

We'll manage!

Crawford goes on about Poké Assists. Another excuse to doze. The Ranger School in Summerland was more thorough with teaching us stuff than the one over here was. I know all this already.

The rest of the grads probably haven't got a clue about Poké Assists. They probably don't know that the Styler has an integrated compass, either.

Their loss.

"Alright, people. Fall in!" Barlow bellows, making everyone fall into line. "I suppose it's not really necessary to do formal introductions... But as the Leader here, I'd like to uphold tradition. People, today we blah, blah, blah..."

Wow, twice in three minutes.

That's a world record. Someone take a picture. Barlow goes through everyone on the team, like I don't know who everyone is by now. I just play along; I don't want to upset my new boss.

"Incidentally... I hate to say this, but things are getting strange around Vientown. It's so bad, the place can't live up to the billing, 'For relaxation, this is your town.' Remember that Pokémon trouble we had at the beach? Since then, things have started slowly turning strange. Whether Vientown returns to being a relaxing place or not depends on us. It's our job as Rangers to put things right. Light, I'm expecting big things from you."

No pressure or anything...

"Let's not waste any time, Light. Here's your first mission. I want you to go with Crawford and help him with his job. Join him in delivering the Vien Tribune. It's a job Crawford normally does by himself. Visit every home in Vientown and Chicole Village and deliver the newspaper."

Yay! Our first real Mission!

It's not much of a Mission...

LET ME DO IT!

... OK, then. If you insist.

WEE! I'm off like a flash, Crawford following behind me. I hear the rest of the team laughing at my retreating figure. It's hard to believe that we're actually here!

I wonder why they took us on.

What do you mean?

Well, the Ranger School has to send a bio of each student to their potential employers. Ours probably had the muteness and blindness stuff on it. What sort of Ranger Base would want us?

The Vientown Rangers would! The first home we go to is full of Happiny running all over the place. It's quite cute seeing a little girl joining in with them! Crawford give the Vien Tribune to the mother, who says something about a 'Rookie Ranger' and smiles in my direction. I blush slightly.

Don't embarrass us.

The next house we go is full of wood chips and carvings, but empty of people. Crawford says something about the owner of the house, Mr. Woodward, being on Nabiki Beach.

When they said 'take the Vien Tribune to each house', I didn't think we'd have to take detours.

We saunter down to Nabiki Beach, the initial excitement receding slightly. It's a burning hot day, and the new uniform makes me sweat more. I wouldn't mind a cold drink. Or better yet... Look over there, Light...

What's that...? Oh, it's not.

It is!

"Pachi Pachi!"

That Pachirisu's back! And we're a real Ranger now...

Don't you dare...

It seems to remember us! Oh, it's coming with us! Woodward, the guy we're looking for, is on the beach also. He says the Pachirisu has been waiting for us to graduate. We can't leave it after it waited for so long!

Yes we can. Walk away.

Aww, come on! It's cute!

It probably has rabies.

It's has a powerful Poké Assist!

It'll poo on our uniform.

It'll help protect us.

Its static will make our hair frizzy and mess with our Styler.

It'll be our eyes for us!

...

Gotcha there! I hold out an arm for it. It squeaks happily and jumps up onto my shoulders, nuzzling its cheek into mine; chewing gently on my hair. Crawford tells me about Pachirisu's Poké Assist. I pay attention, wanting to get to know my Partner Pokémon as much as possible.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

We leave after giving Woodward his paper. Pachirisu snuggles up, delighted that it finally got to come with me. The next house is a barn house, full of children of all ages.

The parents must have had a lot of time on their hands.

A huge woman and a familiar bloke come inside from the field.

"You're the one who came to my husband's rescue at the Ranger School, aren't you?" Ah, that's why he looks familiar. "I surely needed to thank you for that. We were saying how good it'd be if that student came to be a Ranger in our town.

Our reputation precedes us.

"You sure saved me from a mauling!" says Little Tim. "Those Bidoof were out to get me."

Crawford hands the Tribune over to one of the kids. The big woman, who was probably Little Tim's wife, gives me a bear hug before we leave. I can feel my ribs creaking. She lets go when I start to look slightly blue in the face.

This town is full of weirdoes.

Like us?

...

We leave, the Miltank in the field mooing at us. Vientown finished, we head off to Chicole Village. Pachirisu hops down from my shoulder, glad to be running around in its natural habitat. I follow the sounds it makes as it crashes through the undergrowth, Pachirisu already following the directive I gave it without even knowing it. Told you it would come in handy!

...

Yeah, you sulk! We go home next. Lil' pounces on Pachirisu, stroking its fur the wrong way and pulling its tail. It take it off her before it can shock her.

"What's this?" asks Dad. "The Vien Tribune, is it?" No, it's a watermelon stall. What do you think? "You're to deliver this door-to-door? I'd think you were given this job so you can get acquainted with the local people."

Ever the rational one.

"Big Brother, why are you delivering the Vien tribune? When you look so cool in your uniform..."

I feel a grooming session coming on.

"Well, isn't that a nice uniform! The material looks to be good quality," Mom coos. She's probably wondering if it's dry clean only. "The design is wonderful too! Ranger Crawford... My Sun is still just a child." Crawford looks at me. I forgot that he doesn't know my real name. "Please keep an eye on my first born."

First born...

I shoo Crawford out the door. He smiles knowingly and goes off to deliver the rest of the papers without me, so that I can be unwillingly prodded and praised for my new look. It's embarrassing, but at least no one else can see it.

We'll have a bit of explaining to do for the 'Sun' stuff. Or not explaining. We can't do that without a pen and paper.

Morse code?

I doubt they know it off by heart. They're not Operators.

I pull free from their grasps and leg it out the door, waving goodbye to them before they leave marks on my nice new uniform. Crawford is done delivering the newspapers. We leave for Vientown.

"So, Sun, what did you think of that?"

I balk slightly. This isn't going well.

Mom and dad are the only ones who even call us that! Now everyone is going to start!

I give him hesitant thumbs up. I'm glad to be making myself useful. I feel really short next to him, especially as I'm under average height and he's about eighteen foot tall.

Don't exaggerate.

OK, more like six and a half. We walk along in an awkward silence. Crawford must have realised that he hit a nerve, because he promises to keep it to himself. I'm relieved: it would only make things more complicated.

But your name is Sun.

And yours isn't. And who is the dominant personality here?

... Me.

Exactly. The tension eased again, Pachirisu chirps happily at us. I'm glad it waited for us; it will grow on you. I'll make sure of it.

I can't wait.

Barlow is being interviewed by a guy I don't recognise back at the Ranger Base. He's probably a freelance reporter. He asks Barlow to describe the Rangers job in one word, to which Barlow replies:

"Hmm... That's a tough one. Oh! Look who's back! That was your first official Mission, wasn't it? Good for you. That's your Mission Clear!"

That was the one word he would've chosen?

Look like we'll never get to find out what Barlow would've said.

"Oh, what's this I see? That Pachirisu behind you... What's the story here?"

It comes forwards, shuffling around nervously. It's probably afraid that I won't be allowed to keep it.

"The story? You already know it," explains Crawford. "That's Light first Partner Pokémon. Don't you remember? It's the same Pachirisu from before. You know, that Pachirisu Sun-I-mean Light captured on Nabiki Beach."

"Oh, yeah, OK, I remember now!" exclaims Barlow, not noticing the slip-up with the name. "It's that Pachirisu that kept following Light around that day." They sure like to say the same thing over and over again. "That sounds like an ideal pair to me. Be good to each other."

Pachirisu jumps around, looking glad that it wasn't made to go. It leaps up onto my back and sits on my head. Luana laughs.

"Hey, Light," continues Barlow. "You can call it a day now, if you want. Going to take me up on offer?"

I nod. My feet hurt from all that walking. Besides, we need to explain to Pachirisu about what we'll need it to do.

I hope it runs away after we tell it. How will we even get the message across?

We need somewhere to write. To the beach! I wave goodbye to the team and-

No way! Give control back! MOVE OVER!

Ow! Just ask nicely.

We fall over. All that pushing around I had to do knocked me off balance. Luckily, we're out of the Ranger Base by then, so we don't make the others suspicious. That damn Pachirisu cocks its head in confusion as I pick myself up. I wave it to follow me, and head off to the beach.

Stop being so cold to it!

We'll have to tell it that there are two of us, too. I'm not having it cuddle up to me.

Well, it'll learn.

We get to the beach by the time the sun begins to set. The sky is painted tan with the receding light. We'll have to make this quick, or we'll end up walking home in the dark. Not like it'll make much difference to our awful sight. I sit down and grab a fallen stick from nearby Pecha plant, and write on the sand.

Can Pachirisu read?

It'll have to. We can't talk to it. It takes a while, but it understandings. And doesn't run away. There goes my plan to get rid of the fleabag.

Hah! You'll have to try harder than that!

The sun sets and the beach is plunged into darkness. More so for me, who suddenly goes completely blind with the lack of light. Not even the normal fogginess; just absolute shade. My heart starts to race. I hope that Pachirisu can do the job properly, or we might drown in the sea. A flash of blue light illuminates the area, and I realise that it's discharging electricity do that we can see.

Don't worry. Just trust it.

That's easy for you to say. I follow cautiously, ready to tumble to my death at any minute. I don't. The Pachirisu does its job well, running ahead and illuminating the safest path for me, squeaking so that I can tell where it is at all times. We get back to the Ranger Base without incident.

I thought we were going home?

It's too far and the track isn't safe enough in the dark. Especially for us. I open the door, squinting with the sudden surge of light. The Pachirisu goes in first and I close the door behind us. The Base is empty except for the Operator, who tells me that the others have all gone home, except for Luana, who is sleeping in the back room in case an emergency pops up, but I'm welcome to stay the night if I wish and thank you have a nice sleep.

They must have a rota for the duty.

We'll have to disobey it this once. Yawning widely, I open the door as quietly as I can. I can hear Luana snoring lightly in the corner, taking up one of the five beds. I collapse into the nearest one, too tired to be more dignified or picky about my sleeping quarters.

We didn't even bring Pajamas!

We can't sleep in our uniform, either. It'll get creased. Hoping to dear God that the Pachirisu is a boy, I have to strip off to my underwear. Luckily, it's a warm night, so I'm not too cold. I curl up in bed, surprised at how comfy it is for a temporary residence.

I'm too tired to even kick the Pachirisu off the bed when it curls up underneath my chin and smiles itself to sleep.